CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

GIGABYTE Apollo Lake SBC Upgraded to a Quad Core Processor

GIGABYTE introduced GA-SBCAP3350 Apollo Lake SBC powered by an Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor las year. The board came without any soldered memory nor storage, instead relying on a SO-DIMM slot, two SATA connectors, and/or an mSATA socket. The company has now launched a second Apollo Lake single board computer – GA-SBCAP3450 – with very similar specifications, except the processor has been upgraded to a Celeron N3450 quad core processor. GIGABYTE GA-SBCAP3450 SBC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor @ 1.1 GHz/ 2.2 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 700 MHz (6W TDP) System Memory – 1x SO-DIMM socket for up to 8GB DDR3L 1333/1600/1866 MHz Storage – 2x SATA 6Gb/s connectors, 1x MSATA connector (MSATA_MPCIE2), 2x 64Mbit flash for AMI UEFI BIOS supporting PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 Video Output 1x HDMI 1.4 […]

July 6, 2018July 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Design ESP32 LoRa GPS Tracker Applications with TTGO T-Beam Board

TTGO introduced a small ESP32 LoRa board with OLED display last year that is still selling for around $14 shipped. But the company is now back with a similar board called TTGO T-Beam that does without the display, but adds GPS support, and a 18650 battery holder, so it should be ideally suited for all sorts of LoRa GPS tracking applications. TTGO T-Beam board specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual core Xtensa LX6 processor with WiFi and Bluetooth Memory – PSRAM Storage – 4MB SPI flash Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.2 Classic and LE with “3D antenna” soldered on PCB LoRa 433, 868, and 915 MHz versions with SMA antenna Transmit current – 120 mA @ +20dBm; 90 mA @ +17dBm; 29mA @ +13dBm Receive sensitivity -139dBm with LoRa & 62.5Khz & SF=12 & 146bps -136dBm with LoRa & 125Khz & SF=12 & 293bps […]

July 6, 2018July 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$43 Mecool M8S Plus DVB is an Entry Level Android Set-Top Box with DVB-T2/T/C Tuner

Android set-top boxes with tuner usually costs $70 and up depending on hardware specifications, and number of tuners, but if you want something cheap that runs Android and supports DVB-T2, “Mecool M8S Plus DVB” may be worth looking at, since it’s sold for just $55.99 shipped. [Update: Mecool M8S Plus DVB can now be found on Banggood for $42.99 including shipping] In order to achieve such low price, the company had to make some compromises, and the TV box only comes with 1GB RAM, and 8GB storage. Amlogic however recently published a press release about their “new Amlogic S905X chipset” supporting Netflix and 1GB RAM. S905X is clearly not new, but it’s possible the company made some Android optimizations for their S9XX SoC family that provides a decent user experience even with just 1GB RAM. Mecool M8S Plus DVB set-top-box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor […]

July 6, 2018July 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Sapphire FS-FP5V Embedded Board Features AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 Processor, Four DisplayPort Outputs

We’ve previously covered UDOO Bolt AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 development board that’s offered for $229 and up on Kickstarter, and targets the maker community. Another board with Ryzen Embedded processor is SAPPHIRE FS-FP5V 5″ board with support for up to four independent displays, and suitable solution for digital signage, POS terminal, electronic gaming machines, medical imaging, thin clients, and so on. Sapphire FS-FP5V specifications: SoC AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B 2 cores / 4 threads @ 2 GHz / 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with Radeon Vega 3 @ 1100 MHz; 12-25W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 2.06 GHz / 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with Radeon Vega 8 GPU @ 1100 MHz; 12-25W AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 3.25 GHz / 3.6 GHz with Radeon Vega 8 GPU @ 1100 MHz; 35-54W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V1807B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 3.35 […]

July 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

ESP32-SOLO-1 is a Single Core ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth Module

Espressif ESP32 is popular dual core processor with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, except as we’ve seen last year, the company also developed a single core version with ESP32-S0WD chip, whose price is only slightly more expensive than ESP8266. But so far, I had not seen many hardware platforms announced with the single core version, with the exception of Particle Argon board. But I believe we should soon see more ESP32-S0WD boards brought to market, since Espressif Systems has now announced ESP32-SOLO-1 single core module. ESP32-SOLO-1 wireless module specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S0WD single core Tensilica Xtensa LX6 processor @ up to 160 MHz with 448 KB ROM, 520KB on-chip SRAM, and 16KB SRAM in RTC Storage – 4MB SPI flash Connectivity 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 4.2 LE + EDR I/Os – SD card, UART, SPI, SDIO, I2C, LED PWM, motor PWM, I2S, IR, […]

July 5, 2018July 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

$10 Nordic Semi nRF52840 USB Dongle Supports Bluetooth 5, Thread, ZigBee, 802.15.4, ANT and 2.4GHz Proprietary

Several weeks ago, as I noticed the lack of Bluetooth 5 USB dongles, I found MakerSpot CC2640 Bluetooth 5 USB stick based on Texas Instrument CC2640R2F Arm Cortex-M3 WiSoC. It’s not exactly a consumer products, and instead it’s more like a development kit, but it can still be inserted into the USB port of your computer or development board. Today, I found out Nordic Semi also made their own Bluetooth 5 – or is it Bluetooth 5.0 now, I’m really confused at this point – USB dongle for evaluation & development based on nRF52840 WiSoC. It’s not only for Bluetooth 5 though, as the multi-protocol SoC also supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, Zigbee, 802.15.4, ANT(+), and 2.4 GHz proprietary solutions. nRF52840 USB dongle (PCA10059) key features: Wireless Connectivity – Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, Zigbee, 802.15.4, ANT/ANT+, and 2.4GHz USB – USB 2.0 ports Expansion – 15x […]

July 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 8″ Tablet Comes with Snapdragon 660 Processor, 4G LTE Connectivity

Android tablets are not as popular as they used to be, and the choice of tablets has come down as a results. However, Xiaomi still keeps on updating their Mi Pad family every year or two years. After NVIDIA based Mi Pad in 2014, Intel based Mi Pad 2 in 2015, and Mediatek powered Mi Pad 3 last year, the Chinese company has now launched Mi Pad 4 with a Qualcomm 660 octa-core processor and an 8″ Full HD display. Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core Kryo 260 processor @ up to 2.2 GHz (1.8 GHz for the low power cluster), Adreno 512 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 full,Vulkan, DX12, and Hexagon 680 DSP with Hexagon Vector eXtensions (HVX) System Memory – 3 or 4GB LPDDR4x Storage – 32 or 64 GB eMMC 5.1 flash, micro SD card slot up to […]

July 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

DFRobot 7″ HDMI Display with Touchscreen Sells for $69

There are plenty of HDMI displays, but if you want a smaller size it become more complicated although some 7″ HDMI displays are available. However, if you want to add touchscreen support, then the choice becomes even more scarce, especially if you want a neatly packaged solution. That’s why DFRobot’s 7″ HDMI display with a 5-point touchscreen may be interesting, and as a bonus it also features mounting holes for Arduino & Raspberry Pi boards. Specifications: Display – 7″ display with 1024×600 resolution @ 43 Hz (60Hz is possible, but not recommended as it will not be full screen) Interfaces – HDMI input for video, micro USB port for touchscreen Voltage & current – 5V @ 160 mA with HDMI connection (1.2A max) Dimensions – 183 x 100mm; mounting hole size: 3.1 x 6mm Weight – 328g Despite the 1.2A maximum current, the company claims an external power supply is […]